Brussels summit security: The police’s General Inspection department are concerned

Saturday, 13 May 2017

The police are having trouble finding enough officers to effectively police the capital during European summits and other important events, and its General Inspection department are concerned. A report to this effect has been sent to the Chamber’s Home Affairs Commission. De Tijd spoke about it on Saturday.

The police’s General Inspection department looked into the way security was organised during the European summit on the 20th and 21st of October. It noticed there were not enough officers to cover all the security risks.

The report says the Brussels police zone did not have enough officers the day before the summit, as it didn’t get enough reinforcements from other police zones and the Federal police. The military was eventually called in to keep an eye on hotels, with the agreement of Minister Jan Jambon (New Flemish Alliance N-VA).

The General Inspection department says some zones didn’t do enough to provide reinforcements for their Brussels colleagues, while others simply didn’t have the manpower to spare. It also mentioned problems with training officers for important events in Brussels. Some zones also don’t have any protective equipment to give their officers.